Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ireland's position is that there is no basis for excluding Irish fishing vessels from the Rockall waters. They are EU waters and therefore, Irish fishermen are legitimately pursuing EU fishing opportunities and have done so unhindered for decades. Any concern should be handled through dialogue rather than universal enforcement action.

The House will be aware that the Tánaiste recently received a formal letter of notice from the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop MSP, stating that Scotland would deploy vessels in the Rockall area to take enforcement action against Irish and other EU vessels found within 12 miles of Rockall from last weekend onwards. The jurisdiction over the 12 mile area around Rockall has long been disputed. The UK claims sovereignty over Rockall and thus a 12 mile territorial limit in the sea around it. The Irish Government's position has been, and continues to be, that we do not recognise this claim, that the waters around Rockall are part of the UK’s exclusive economic zone and accordingly form part of the European waters under the Common Fisheries Policy, to which the principle of equal access for the vessels of all EU member states applies.

Irish vessels have operated unhindered in the Rockall zone for many decades, fishing haddock, squid and other species. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed, met with the Irish fishing sector on Friday, 2 June, to inform it of the letter from the Scottish authorities, but also confirmed that Ireland's position on Rockall had not changed. I know that the industry was appreciative of that engagement but was also extremely concerned with the possibility that unjustified enforcement action might be taken against its members.

In engagement with the Scottish authorities, Ireland's position has been that there is no basis for excluding Irish fishing vessels from Rockall waters, that they are legitimately pursuing EU fishing opportunities and quotas in these waters and that they have done so unhindered for many decades. That is our advice to the sector.

On this issue, the views of Ireland and those of Scotland have differed for some time. Nevertheless, we have had a strong and positive partnership to our mutual benefit over many years. In light of the most recent developments, dialogue is continuing between the Irish and Scottish Governments and there has been close contact at official level in recent days in order to de-escalate tensions. It has been agreed that a process of intensified engagement will take place, led by senior officials from both administrations.

I was not briefed about this issue in advance of my last meeting with First Minister Sturgeon and did not receive any notes on it. I understand that the Scottish Government had indicated that it would give us advance notice before taking any action. I will be meeting First Minister Sturgeon in Manchester later this month and that will be an opportunity for us to talk about the matter. In the meantime, we have been in touch through our senior officials and have agreed a common line on it, which I have shared with the House.

As the House will know, Rockall is a small and uninhabitable rock located approximately 150 nautical miles west of the Scottish island of St. Kilda and 230 nautical miles north-west of Donegal. During the 1960s and 1970s, the issue of Rockall was a source of legal and political controversy in both Ireland and the UK. The UK claimed sovereignty over Rockall and has sought formally to annex it under its Island of Rockall Act 1972.

In April 2017, Marine Scotland, an agency of the Scottish Government, advised our Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, that it intended to exclude Irish fishing vessels from waters within the 12 mile zone around Rockall. The proposed Scottish action was based on the UK Government's stance on sovereignty over Rockall and their interpretation of their prerogatives under the UK fisheries legislation and the UK's Island of Rockall Act 1972 combined with the absence of an explicit provision in annex 1 of the Common Fisheries Policy regulation permitting Irish vessels to access territorial waters around Rockall.

Ireland disputes the Scottish interpretation of the legal position. We do not recognise the UK's claim of sovereignty over Rockall and, therefore, we do not accept the existence of a 12-mile territory limit around it. From Ireland's perspective, the area forms part of a wider, 200-mile UK exclusive economic zone, EEZ, in which the principle of equal access for all EU vessels should apply. While Ireland has not recognised British sovereignty over Rockall, it has never sought to claim sovereignty for itself. The consistent position of successive Governments has been that Rockall and similar rocks have no significance for establishing legal claims to mineral rights in the adjacent seabed or fishing rights in the surrounding seas. In 1998, Ireland and the UK concluded an agreement, establishing the boundaries on the continental shelf, which gave no weight to Rockall, in line with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. In 2013, it was agreed the same boundary would also serve to divide the two countries' EEZs. Ireland fully accepts that Rockall lies within the UK EEZ.

Since the matter was raised with the Government in April 2017, discussions have been ongoing. At political level, it was discussed between the Tánaiste and the Scottish cabinet secretary, Ms Fiona Hyslop, in September, which was followed by an exchange of letters. Further discussions have taken place at senior official level this year. On 31 May, Ms Hyslop wrote to the Tánaiste to indicate the subject operational priorities, and that the Scottish Government intended to deploy vessels in the area one week after that date and intended to take enforcement actions against any vessel, regardless of nationality, it considered to be fishing illegally. On 5 June, the Tánaiste replied, stating the position of the Government and requesting that the Scottish Government reconsider its approach. The Tánaiste spoke with Ms Hyslop on 6 June and she has maintained the Scottish position. Dialogue has continued, however, between the Irish and Scottish Governments. There have been contacts at official level in recent days and it has been agreed a process of intensified engagement, led by officials from both administrations, will take place, which, we hope, will allow a de-escalation of tensions in this regard.

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